A new study conducted by American researchers and published in the journal Nature shows that pandemics might become more frequent due to global warming.
The researchers concluded that global warming will cause wild animals to shift their habitats to areas closer to human populations, making the latter more susceptible to contracting viruses.
“We have concerns regarding markets because bringing unhealthy animals together under unnatural conditions creates opportunities for this stepwise process of virus emergence. In a changing climate, this type of process will be reality in nature everywhere,” said Colin Carlson, one of the study’s authors.
The study focused on the risk to bats, which are the main transmitters of viruses from animals to humans.
Southeast Asia is expected to be one of the hardest hit areas due to the large proportion of bats that live there.
“It is unclear exactly how these new viruses might affect the species involved, but it is likely that many of them will fuel the emergence of new epidemics in humans,” said the study’s co-lead author. , Gregory Albery.
